Editing Don McLean (section)

===Subsequent recordings===
[[File:Don McLean 1976.JPG|thumb|McLean in a publicity photo, 1976]]
Personnel from the ''[[American Pie (Don McLean album)|American Pie]]'' album sessions were retained for his third album ''[[Don McLean (album)|Don McLean]]'', including the producer, Ed Freeman, [[Rob Stoner|Rob Rothstein]] on bass, and [[Warren Bernhardt]] on piano. The song "The Pride Parade" provides an insight into McLean's immediate reaction to stardom. McLean told ''Melody Maker'' in 1973 that ''Tapestry'' was an album by someone previously concerned with external situations. ''[[American Pie (Don McLean album)|American Pie]]'' combines externals with internals, and the resultant success of that album makes the third one (''[[Don McLean (album)|Don McLean]]'') entirely introspective."

Other songs written by McLean for the album include "Dreidel" (number 21 on the Billboard chart) and "If We Try" (number 58), which was recorded by [[Olivia Newton-John]].<ref>''[[The Great Olivia Newton-John]]'', Festival Records, 1999.</ref> "On the Amazon" from the 1920s musical ''[[Mr. Cinders]]'' was an unusual choice but became an audience favorite in concerts and featured in ''Till Tomorrow'', a documentary film about McLean produced by Bob Elfstrom (Elfstrom held the role of Jesus Christ in Johnny and June Cash's ''Gospel Road)''. The film shows McLean in concert at Columbia University as he was interrupted by a bomb scare. He left the stage while the audience stood up and checked under their seats for anything that resembled a bomb. After the all-clear, McLean re-appeared and sang "On the Amazon" from exactly where he had left off. Don Heckman reported the bomb scare in his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'' titled "Don McLean Survives Two Obstacles".<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', December 12, 1971</ref>

The fourth album ''[[Playin' Favorites]]'' was a top-40 hit in the UK in 1973 and included the Irish folk classic, "Mountains of Mourne" and Buddy Holly's "[[Everyday (Buddy Holly song)|Everyday]]", a live rendition of which returned McLean to the UK Singles Chart. McLean said "The last album (''[[Don McLean (album)|Don McLean]]'') was a study in depression whereas the new one (''[[Playin' Favorites]]'') is almost the quintessence of optimism."{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The 1974 album ''[[Homeless Brother]]'', produced by [[Joel Dorn]], was McLean's final studio recording for United Artists. The album featured fine New York session musicians, including Ralph McDonald on percussion, [[Hugh McCracken]] on guitar and a guest appearance by [[Yusef Lateef]] on flute. The [[The Persuasions|Persuasions]] sang the background vocals on "[[Crying in the Chapel]]", and [[Cissy Houston]] provided a backing vocal on "La La Love You". The album's title song was inspired by [[Jack Kerouac]]'s book ''[[Lonesome Traveler]]'', in which Kerouac tells the story of America's "homeless brothers" or hobos. The song features background vocals by [[Pete Seeger]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/homeless-brother-mw0000046874|title=Homeless Brother: Don McLean {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 25, 2018}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=July 2021}}

The song "The Legend of Andrew McCrew" was based on an article published in ''The New York Times''<ref name=bio/> concerning a black Dallas hobo named Anderson McCrew who was killed when he leapt from a moving train. No one claimed him, so a carnival took his body, mummified it, and toured all over the South with him, calling him "The Famous Mummy Man". McLean's song inspired radio station WGN in Chicago to tell the story and give the song airplay in order to raise money for a headstone for McCrew's grave. Their campaign was successful, and McCrew's body was exhumed and buried in the Lincoln Cemetery in Dallas.<ref>''Ellensburg Daily Record'', May 24, 1974.</ref>

[[Joel Dorn]] later collaborated on the McLean career retrospective ''[[Rearview Mirror: An American Musical Journey|Rearview Mirror]]'', released in 2005 on Dorn's label, Hyena Records. In 2006, Dorn reflected on working with McLean:<ref name=bio/><blockquote>Of the more than 200 studio albums I've produced in the past 40 plus years, there is a handful; maybe 15 or so that I can actually listen to from top to bottom. ''[[Homeless Brother]]'' is one of them. It accomplished everything I set out to do. And it did so because it was a true collaboration. Don brought so much to the project that all I really had to do was capture what he did, and complement it properly when necessary.</blockquote>

In 1977 a brief liaison with [[Arista Records]] that yielded the album ''[[Prime Time (Don McLean album)|Prime Time]]'', and in October 1978, the single "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". This was a track from the album ''[[Chain Lightning (album)|Chain Lightning]]'' that should have been the second of four with Arista.<ref name=bio/> McLean had started recording in Nashville, Tennessee, with [[Elvis Presley]]'s backing singers, the [[The Jordanaires|Jordanaires]], and many of Presley's musicians. However the Arista deal broke down following artistic disagreements between McLean and the Arista chief, [[Clive Davis]]. Consequently, McLean was left without a record contract in the United States, but through continuing deals, ''[[Chain Lightning (album)|Chain Lightning]]'' was released by EMI in Europe and by Festival Records in Australia.

In April 1980, the Roy Orbison song "[[Crying (Roy Orbison song)|Crying]]" from the album began picking up airplay on Dutch radio stations and McLean was called to Europe to appear on several important musical variety shows to plug the song and support its release as a single by EMI. The song achieved number 1 status in the Netherlands first, followed by the UK and then Australia.

McLean's number 1 successes in Europe and Australia led to a new deal in the United States with Millennium Records, which issued ''[[Chain Lightning (album)|Chain Lightning]]'' two and a half years after it had been recorded in Nashville and two years after its release in Europe. It charted on February 14, 1981, and reached number 28, and "Crying" climbed to number 5 on the pop singles chart. Orbison himself thought that McLean's version was the best interpretation he'd ever heard of one of his songs. Orbison thought McLean did a better job than he did and even went so far as to say that the voice of Don McLean is one of the great instruments of 20th-century America.<ref name="skydoc"/> According to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, "McLean's voice could cut through steel – he is a very pure singer and he's up there with the best of them. He's a very talented singer and songwriter and he deserves his success."<ref name=skydoc/>

McLean had further chart successes in the United States in the early 1980s with "[[Since I Don't Have You]]", a new recording of "Castles in the Air" and "It's Just the Sun". In 1987, the release of the country-based album'' [[Love Tracks (Don McLean album)|Love Tracks]]'' gave rise to the hit singles "Love in My Heart" (a top-10 in Australia), "[[You Can't Blame the Train]]" (U.S. country number 49), and "Eventually". The latter two songs were written by [[Terri Sharp]]. In 1991, [[EMI]] reissued "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]" as a single in the United Kingdom, and McLean performed on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. In 1992, previously unreleased songs became available on ''[[Favorites and Rarities]]'', and ''Don McLean Classics'' featured new studio recordings of "[[Vincent (Don McLean song)|Vincent]]" and "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]".

McLean has continued to record new material, including ''River of Love'' in 1995 on [[Curb Records]], and more recently, the albums ''You've Got to Share'', ''Don McLean Sings Marty Robbins'' and ''The Western Album'' for his own Don McLean Music label. ''Addicted to Black'' was released in May 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=320 |title=Don McLean Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123224947/http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=320|archive-date=November 23, 2012}}</ref>